Magnetism
by gweaz
Summary: A missing scene from Genderbender in which Mulder and Scully get a little too close for comfort.


Title: Magnetism

Author: gweaz

Classification: VR - Vignette/Romance

Rating: PG

Disclaimer: The X-Files is owned by Fox; no infringement of copyright is intended.

Feedback: Of course! My first foray into X-Files fanfiction, so feedback is mucho appreciated.

Spoilers: Genderbender.

Summary: For the Bad Touch S1 Challenge. Missing scene from Genderbender in which Mulder and Scully get a little too close for comfort.

**Magnetism**

It wasn't cold inside the car, but Scully still felt a chill. The goose bumps on her arm tickled her fingers as she thoughtlessly rubbed her wrist. It was like there was a fog in her head. It felt like intoxication, or something close that she couldn't put her finger on. Her fingertips and toes were buzzing. The driver's door opened suddenly and shocked her out of her silent meditation and Mulder handed her a steaming cup. She hoped the coffee would warm her up.

"How're you feeling?" he asked as he got into the car.

"Better," she replied, opting to skirt the truth of how she actually felt. The truth was that Scully had no idea how she felt. She was usually so composed. She prided herself in her professionalism in the field and her dead on instincts, but she couldn't explain how she ended up in bed with Brother Andrew. Even if she had been attracted to him, she never would have let that happen under normal circumstances. Scully was always so in control—even stone drunk she would never have kissed someone involved in a case, let alone a suspect.

"A little embarrassed, actually," she added.

"Why? You don't remember any of it."

"It's like I don't remember—"

"Why didn't you get out of there before he…" Mulder trailed off, wanting some type of explanation.

"Because he told me he knew who the killer was," Scully replied. It wasn't the whole truth, but she had no better explanation.

"And that's all?"

"That's all," she replied. "I don't want to talk about it, Mulder." She looked away, trying to avert his gaze. Mulder was silent for a moment as he looked at her profile. It took some effort for her not to return his gaze. Instead, she took an unmeasured sip of her coffee and winced as she burnt her tongue on the hot coffee.

"What if there was another explanation?" he asked. Scully smirked. She could clearly imagine Mulder as a small child driving his mother insane with unending inquiries into the mysteries of the world. Mrs. Mulder must have dreaded the words 'what if.'

Scully had never in her life met anyone so innately curious, and she found that she enjoyed the continuous repartee that stemmed from Mulder's insatiable appetite for knowledge. Today, however, she was not in the mood to question, analyze and explain.

"Like what?" Scully asked with a sigh, resigning herself to the inevitable. It was a moment before he responded.

"What do you know about pheromones, Agent Scully?" he asked. The corner of her mouth twitched as she turned to face him again.

"Well," she began, not looking forward to where this conversation was going, "I know that they are chemical signals sent out by an organism that illicit a social response in members of the same organism." He nodded. "There has been documentation that they can indicate danger, food, marking territory…" This was obviously not the answer Mulder was looking for.

"Go on," Mulder said. He waited.

"Sex." By the look on his face she had hit the nail on the head. "Well, there has been some evidence that sex pheromones help organisms identify male and female members of the same species and indicate when a female is ready to breed or whether or not a male would make a good mate. But Mulder, there has absolutely never been conclusive proof of human pheromones having any such affect. It has only been documented with insects, bacteria, other mammals to some extent… The human physiology doesn't allow for such drastic response to biological chemicals from other humans."

"But how different are we from the birds and the bees, Scully? Isn't that why we use monkeys in the lab instead of poking and prodding at John Doe?" Scully was shaking her head before Mulder even finished his statement.

"Of course there are advantages of using animals similar to humans in the lab, and you are right that anatomically and physiologically, the difference between humans and other mammals is minimal. It's evidenced by the way we teach it in school, I suppose; I learned human anatomy from a cat dissection as an undergrad, but, Mulder, it's not the same." She was exasperated, but at the same time was aware of a hint of enjoyment somewhere in the back of her mind.

"Why not? We all are governed by the same laws of nature," he said. "Why should humans be excluded?" She knew that he was grasping for straws, with little scientific knowledge, but she found she couldn't interrupt him in his tirade. "Wouldn't it be plausible, Scully, that one population—isolated from the general public and left alone for generations—developed some type of mutation where something like a sex pheromone could have evolved to have such an effect?" he asked her.

"It would be plausible, yes," she conceded, "but that would be like saying that people are just magnets and have no control over who they are attracted to or how they act on such an attraction. You can't simply send out these chemical signals whenever you want a quickie, Mulder!"

"Then how do you explain what happened with you and Brother Andrew?"

"I can't!" she responded violently, spilling coffee as she jerked her hand in frustration. "Ouch! Shit," she cursed under her breath as she looked for something to clean up the mess. Not finding anything, she began to wipe the offending liquid onto her dark coat. Mulder reached over to stop her and brushed her hand with his thumb as he handed her a napkin. She felt a jolt at the contact. He didn't let her hand go as he cleaned off the coffee.

"There has to some reason I walked in on you about to do the wild thing with some stranger…"

"Well, it's not pheromones," she said absentmindedly as she watched him pat her hand dry.

"I wouldn't count it out, Scully," Mulder said, glancing up at her for a moment. "I've seen people do some pretty uncharacteristic things under the influence of physical attraction." She felt herself flush as he looked up at her. "In fact…" He began to lean toward her.

"Mulder, what are you doing?" she asked, quickly leaning away from him.

"I'm conducting a scientific experiment," he said still closing the space between them until she didn't have anywhere else to go. " You should appreciate this as a scientist and a medical doctor." Her eyes left his for a second as, unbidden, they flickered down to his lips. He stopped leaning toward her when his face was a few inches away from hers.

"This isn't appropriate, Mulder," she said quietly. She inwardly scolded herself for not being more assertive.

"I promise not to move another inch," he said. She did not take any comfort from his assertion.

"Will you please back up," Scully said without much real conviction. She was still acutely aware of his hand on hers.

"Not an inch. This is a bona fide scientific study. You say there is no such thing as inexplicable attraction. I am determined to find out." Mulder was as good as his word and hovered just a few inches away from her with no sign of surrendering. She tried to string together some kind of argument, but was frustrated by how easily his proximity affected her train of thought. Finally, she pieced something together.

"I didn't say inexplicable attraction, Mulder—people are attracted to inappropriate people all the time—I said that there is no such thing as human sex pheromones that could have the effect that you are describing, it just wouldn't—"

"Are you attracted to me, Scully?" he asked in the same whispery tone with which he spoke to her on the day they first met—as if her belief in extra-terrestrials was somehow comparable to plausibility of her finding him attractive.

"That's beside the point, Mulder," she argued. "We are partners on assignment. That's all."

"Then you wouldn't have a problem resisting an advance like this," he inferred.

"No, Mulder, I wouldn't. Now, please stop." She didn't feel threatened at all, but his proximity was sending sparks along her spine. He didn't back away, so she continued, trying quite hard to ignore the physical closeness between them. "This little experiment won't prove anything about pheromones, and it certainly won't help us find this murderer—"

"So you're saying that you don't feel anything with me close to you like this? No magnetism?" he asked. She raised her eyebrow. She did not appreciate having her own words used against her.

"No." She could deny it out loud, but inevitably her body would betray her. She was certain that he could hear her heartbeat quickening and feel the tremor in her hand.

"You could just get out of the car," Mulder suggested. It was true; there was nothing that was keeping her from leaving, or smacking him for that matter. But the truth was that she did feel something—and as much as she didn't want to admit it, magnetism wasn't far off the mark. She found herself looking at his lips again as he continued speaking.

"No one is stopping—" he was cut off as Scully closed the distance between them. She kissed him and told herself it was the only way to get him to give up—or shut up. For a moment, she tried to convince herself that he had not given her an alternative. But the truth was that she couldn't resist.

For a second, all the possible consequences of this kiss were flying through Scully's mind, but they were soon replaced by the overwhelming sensation of his lips on hers. Scully felt Mulder intertwine his fingers with hers as he reached up with the other hand to cup her cheek. Her free hand automatically reached to the back of his neck as the kiss deepened. There were no thoughts in her mind—just like a fog had smothered her consciousness.

Suddenly, as shockingly as if a grenade had gone off, Mulder's phone rang. Scully was jolted back into the present and she jumped out of the car before he could even retrieve the phone from his pocket.

Scully paced rapidly back and forth while Mulder was on the phone in the car. Her heart was racing and her breathing was erratic. All she could do was concentrate on her breath, and eventually her pace slowed to match. She was a few yards away when she heard the car door open.

"There's been another attack," Mulder said. Scully took one final breath before turning to him. His face was red and his hair was standing up on the top. He looked at her with the unspoken question clear on his face along with the slightest amount of guilt shining through. She nodded, silently accepting whatever apology or explanation he had that would forever be left unsaid.

"Let's get to work," Scully said as she reached for the door and pulled it open. She settled herself in and made sure to point the vent directly at her face before Mulder joined her in the car.

"So what did you see down in that cellar?" she asked before he could say anything. Ignoring the elephant in the room had always been on of her strong suits. Mulder looked at her for a second before turning on the ignition and responding.

"Just Brother What's-His-Name buried in some gopher hole in the wall—buried alive."

"How do you know he was alive?" Scully asked.

"Because I was in there with him. And his face was different. Even his hair was almost feminine. It was like he was going through some kind of transformation."

"Changing sexes?" Scully asked skeptically.

"That would explain the hotel security camera," Mulder said.

"There's got to be some kind of scientific explanation," Scully said without thinking—it was her automatic retort to any of his wild speculations.

"Maybe we should conduct an experiment," Mulder said without looking at her. She was grateful that he didn't notice her blush as he pulled the car out of the parking lot and headed back toward the city.

Somehow, Scully didn't think riding in a car with Mulder would ever be the same.

**The End**

**A/N:** This is my first foray into X-Files fanfic. Any feedback would be appreciated!


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